A Little More

Little Diversified Architectural Consulting (formerly Little & Associates Architects, Charlotte, N.C.) has split its firm's Food Service retail studio into two units — Supermarkets and Store Design.

The nation's sixth-largest retail design firm (according to VM+SD's annual tabulations) now has four specialties within its Retail Group: Store Design, Supermarkets, Corporate and Investment Retail.

The Store Design team, led by studio principal Steven Starr, will focus on restaurant, store and specialty design for clients who are, he says, seeking branded environments that sell. “Breaking out gives us more focus and compliments the retail offerings here at Little as a whole,” said Starr. “Our approach is more fine-tuned. Clients aren't just working with an architectural firm here at Little — they're working with business consultants as well.” Recent additions to Starr's team include project architect Kevin Franz and project manager/senior designer Joshua Cool.

The Supermarkets studio will be headed by principal Tim Morrison, who says, “the Supermarkets practice gives designers the opportunity to focus strictly on the business needs and challenges of supermarket design.”

Recent additions to the Supermarkets team include Richard Walker and Andrew McCabe, both project architects, and Phillip Petty, graphic designer. In addition, Little has also designated two retail veterans as retail design directors — Daniel Montano and Tim O'Brien.

In addition to its Charlotte headquarters, Little Diversified Architectural Consulting has offices in Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Orlando, Research Triangle Park, N.C., and Washington D.C. In 2001, it reported retail design fees of $19.6 million for approximately 9.5 million square feet of retail space. Its more high-profile projects include the Biltmore Estate Winery in Asheville, N.C., and the Shops at Fall Village, Raleigh, N.C.